White Crane's Shadow
by Lack of Common Sense
Summary: Gintoki was an oddball, an idiot, yeah, a reckless bastard and kinda a douche, but above all that, Hijikata was struck by how beautiful Gintoki seemed. That's why, when he found out Gin was selling, it pissed him off all the way to hell. GinHiji. Might appear minor OOC.
1. Chapter 1

White Crane's Shadow

Hijikata is not sure when it began.

No, to be precise, he knows exactly _when_ it began. It's more like he's unsure _why_ in the world was he unable to resist it. Despite knowing the exact date, time and place, despite being fully aware when this has started, he has fallen into it like into the biggest pile of shit he could ever imagine. He has fallen hard and there was no turning back.

The worst part is that he knows he's still falling.

That day, that cursed, stupid day, it started with a new law that came from above, a law about unauthorised prostitution. It said that all freelance prostitutes had to stop working, or, if they wanted to keep selling themselves, they needed to have a paper that said which brothel they belonged to. If they didn't have the permit, they were to be arrested for a night or two, three maximum, and charged with a fee of 5000 yen.

It was a stupid thing, Hijikata thought back then. He still thinks so. However, it was still his job, no matter how shitty it might have gotten at the moment, and once the law has been publicly announced, he went through the whole stinking town and made sure it has been acknowledged.

He was walking through some godforsaken part of Kabuki-chou, and was in fact nearly done. The number of prostitutes arrested was not as big as he was initially worried, so, he was in a good mood overall. Well, at least until he saw a certain white-haired natural perm bastard. Gintoki was leaning on the wall, and since the sun had set a few moments before Hijikata entered that particular street, the permhead was standing in a shadow.

"Helloooo, Oogushi-kun," he said and it sounded like one word, as he waved at Hijikata, who, being called that stupid nickname, got angry immediately. "Shuddup," the cop growled. "What're you doing here, bastard, ah?"

"Just standing, can't I stand wherever the hell my Sugar Highness pleases?"

"What, you high on sugar?" Hijikata hissed; how did this idiot manage to tick him off just by standing near, he was not sure.

Gintoki laughed wholeheartedly and shifted a little; he was in his usual attire, just his bokken was missing… and something was off. Very off. "Seriously, what're ya doin' here?" Hijikata asked again.

The silvernette looked at him. "Work, duh. Waiting for my client."

They both fell into silence, as a thought appeared in Hijikata's mind and what he thought was just a chip of ice on the water surface turned out to be an iceberg about to sink his Titanic of mind. "Are you… _selling_? You are normally, casually doing the… that… job. You are, aren'tcha."

Gintoki giggled, he fucking _giggled_ like a pubescent boy and answered: "And if I am, then what of it?"

Hijikata knew that this idiot does not belong to any brothel. He had to read up a list of brothels and their workers, and he would surely notice if there were listed Gintoki's – or Paako's –name. "If ya are, I gotta arrest ya," he said.

"Since when is prostitution against the law?" Gin asked calmly. _Too_ calmly.

"Pro–" Hijikata choked on his spit. "S-Since the beginning of this week, they said it on TV and it was in every fucking newspaper, you twat."

"I can't get arrested. The clientele's been bad, the Yorozuya is not doing well and I need to get money for the kids," Gintoki said, picking his nose. Rolling whatever he found in there on his finger and flicking it away, he looked at Hijikata.

"How does this even work? I mean, you are a guy," Hijikata blurted out.

"Last time checked, hell yeah I am," Gintoki grinned. "Sometimes it's men, sometimes it's women, and I don't care as long as I get paid."

" _Men?_ So you, like…"

"I what?"

Hijikata's face turned beet red, he was not sure why the hell he hadn't arrested that stupid perm yet. "B-Bpttom?" he stuttered and because he said it too quickly, he slurred that word and it came out incoherent.

"Hah? I can't understand the language of yer tribe, Oogushi-kun."

"Am not fucking Oogushi," Hijikata growled.

"Well, you can't exactly be fucking yourself, right? You can't stretch your own di-" Gintoki started, suppressing laughter, but Hijikata jumped to him and grabbed him by his throat, yelling: "SHUT UP, SHUT THE FUCK UP, IDIOT!" Gintoki's bored red eyes were staring at him as silence fell on the two. Then, Gintoki opened his mouth: "What didja ask 'bout?"

"Ah… D-Do you…" Hijikata stepped back nervously, letting go of the permhead. "You know…"

"Ah, Oogushi-kun wants to know how loose Gin-san's glorious ass is," Gintoki chuckled.

"You stupid-" Toshi started, but this time, it was Gintoki to interrupt him: "It depends on what the client wants."

"… There are actually guys who _want_ to be held?" Hijikata asked while his brain was yelling at him, shut up, shut up, you don't want to know; this is heading the wrong direction, why did you even ask that, are you seriously leaving yet? Idiot! Get the hell out of there!

… Which he stubbornly ignored.

Gintoki nodded. "In the hands of a top who knows his way, they can experience pure bliss," he said and it was clearer than the brightest of days that he meant none other than himself. "Why do you ask, you wanna try?"

" _What?_ No!" Hijikata shook his head fiercely (and his brain sighed, told you, but you just had to be an idiot and not listen to me, huh. Hope you're happy now.)

"Aw, come on, don't be such a bore," Gintoki said and he stepped closer to the vice-commander. Being creeped the hell out of his own skin, the cop stepped backwards. Gintoki followed him and it didn't take long until Hijikata found his back hitting a brick wall behind him. The perm-head stepped in and pinned the raven to the wall, and Hijikata would have punched him in the gut right away if Gintoki hadn't immediately grabbed the front of his pants in a very particular way. Suddenly, there were soft lips on his mouth, too, and a thought that it's not fair flew through his head before a total blackout. He couldn't breathe, something was slipping right through his fingers and he couldn't get a hold of it—

There were firm fingers kneading his quickly hardening length, and despite he _did_ think it was gross in a way, it wasn't really… as gross as he thought it definitely should have been. The worst part, though, was that he was freaking _unable_ to push the silvernette away.

The warm contact of their lips has ceased and Gintoki whispered: "How about that? You need to pay me if you want more, though," he ran his tongue over Hijikata's lower jaw and before he stepped back, he gave the dick in his hand one last squeeze, a bit harder this time, and watched the cop shudder.

"Good evening – oh, you have a client for tonight already?" a female voice came from the main street and it didn't take Hijikata even two heartbeats to grab the distracted Gintoki's arm and slam that guy into the ground, good and hard, because that was what he fucking deserved for messing with Hijikata.

"No, miss, he's being arrested," he said and thanked god the movement he did had no painful effect on his hard-on. "For unauthorised prostitution," and under his breath, only for Gintoki to hear, he added "And for sexual harassment of a police officer."

"Ah… Do you think you could let him off? At least for tonight?" A good sum of yen waved in front of Hijikata's face. He narrowed his eyes and looked up at the woman; she was not really young, could have been between thirty and forty, but seemed to be the type who liked to feel younger. "Miss… Are you trying to _bribe_ a police officer? Are you trying to bribe _me_ , their vice-commander?" he growled and got up, dragging the suddenly unresisting Gintoki along. Cuffs clicked and bound Gintoki's wrists behind his back, and the bastard didn't say a word of protest. "There's not a single person in Kabuki who would be able to bribe me," he said, looking directly at the woman – assumingly Gintoki's customer. She hadn't hesitated a split second as she chimed: "And would you accept the money for spending a night with me?"

Hijikata's face went snow-pale, then red, as blood rushed into his head. "H-Have you no shame?" he barked and turned away, his grip on Gintoki's collar so strong his knuckles turned white. Angrily, he dragged the perm-headed idiot along as if that was all that mattered at the moment, hauled him away from that woman. He… he cowardly ran away. He knew he did, but he was absolutely unprepared for a lady of that kind. If anything, he would have expected some kind of old, sweaty, fat geezer; that would seem fit for Gintoki, yeah, he wanted to say that… he wanted to be prickly, mean even. Because… Hijikata noticed some things the time they crossed swords. Well, to be more precise, the time when Hijikata's sword was cut in half by that perm-head on that roof. Gintoki was an oddball, an idiot, yeah, a reckless bastard and kinda a douche, but above all that, Hijikata was struck by how beautiful Gintoki seemed. It was devastating for him to catch himself thinking that, of course, and it took him a long time to accept his own thoughts. But in the end, he… dealt with it somehow. That's why, when he found out Gin was selling, it pissed him off all the way to hell.

Looking back, he made sure that woman was not following them, then took a step to the side and shoved Gintoki into a wall in some dark alley. There was a strong smell of garbage, but he was not going to stay in there long anyway. "What the hell was," he breathed in and out, attempting to calm down, " _that?_ " he waved his arm in the air more or less the way they came from.

"Ah?" Gintoki finally said something. "She was one of my regulars… more or less. Thanks though, you really saved me there, Oogushi-kun."

"Whatd'ya mean, saved? You're under arrest, bastard!"

"Ah… that lady, she wanted a baby. I didn't want that to happen, I was afraid she might hold me responsible afterwards… So, thanks. Now, could you let me go?"

"Say what?" Hijikata couldn't believe his own ears.

"I need to get a customer, otherwise the kids won't have anything to eat tomorrow," the silvernette explained briefly.

"I bet that's 'cause you spent all your money on pachinko," Hijikata frowned, because that was all he was able to think of, he had no other things to say in stock. If he said some of the stuff that was pacing in his mind back and forth, he would have surely regretted it afterwards.

"Nah. I had to pay back some people. I have even paid the rent I owed Otose, yanno," he yawned and clinked the cuffs. "Now I just have to earn us some food money. Come on, get these off me."

That was something Toshi found rather hard to believe. "You are clean of all of your debts?"

Gintoki squinted. "Well, no, but I have to feed the kids and myself if I want to pay the people I still owe."

"True." There was a pause, as Hijikata was unsure of what to say next.

"Say, Hijikata," Gintoki said and actually got the vice-commander's full attention because he didn't use that stupid nickname for once, "Don't you want to try it? I'm pretty good and I really need the money."

"A-Actually—"

"Come on. I'm not going to tell anyone. And you look like you could use some release. When was the last time you've gotten any?" Gintoki's voice was quiet, suave, persuasive, alluring somehow.

"H—" Toshi almost blurted it out, _how much_. As much as he wanted to convince himself he was not interested, he knew he was failing miserably.

"I'll give you half the price for the first time, and then you can decide… _if_ you become a regular or not." He said it as if he knew the vice-commander would want to come to him again if he agreed to it; a grin flashed across Gintoki's face and Hijikata – he wanted to punch that perm-headed idiot so much at the moment…!

"Half… the price? How much's that?" he asked instead, both his stomach and throat clenching simultaneously.

"That would be 6000 yen," Gintoki said, his face expressionless.

"M-Make it 4500 and we've got a deal," Hijikata said. Not like he was that tight-fisted, it was just…

"Ah? Stingy Oogushi!" Gintoki reacted immediately.

"Shuddup, bastard," Hijikata punched him lightly in the gut. "I-I don't have more on me now."

Gintoki's lips formed a silent _oh_. "Okay then," he said. "Get these things off me and we can go."

A heavy stone settled in Hijikata's gut as he reached for his keys.


	2. Chapter 2

**White Crane's Shadow**

Hijikata expected they would go to some cheap love hotel and it sort of surprised him when instead, they were apparently headed to Gintoki's place. It was already dark, the streets were lit, but empty, and somehow, Hijikata felt sick. Horribly so. He was silently walking about half a step behind Gintoki, not too close and not too far, just enough for them to seem casual… but he couldn't help it, he was tense, he wanted to run the hell away and never come back, because he couldn't _believe_ that Gintoki actually managed to talk him into that. Gin himself, though, didn't seem bothered by it at all. He was rambling on, some of his usual nonsense, and if Hijikata recalled correctly, Gintoki had been talking for the last five minutes about some woman he'd met a few days ago… where again? No, wait, it was weeks ago, at least according to Yorozuya's words – she was the last customer Gin's Odd Jobs had.

"And then, she said the dog ran away with her purse and brought it to some shady guy at the corner, and then the both of them—"

Hijikata was not really listening to him. He was sure he was going to hate it, and considering their conversation from before, he was sorta expecting that he was the one to be held. That seemed like less hassle, but it also meant that his… body was going to be _invaded._ He shuddered at the thought, his feet stopping for a moment. He hesitated.

"—like, can you believe that?" Gintoki looked at Hijikata, and seeing the vice-commander has stopped, he did so as well and asked: "What's wrong? Having second thoughts?"

Toshi, his pride stopping the nod that had been on its way, said: "Are we going to your place? Won't the kids be there?"

"Nono, they are staying at Otae's tonight. It wouldn't do any good, to take a customer there with Kagura-chan behind the wall."

"Oh. Okay then." Reluctantly, Hijikata started to walk again, following Gintoki's broad back. There was a swarm of eels swirling in his gut, he felt like throwing up just thinking about what he was made to agree on. Gintoki went back to his rant and Toshi had no need nor the motivation to listen; instead, he'd started silently questioning every single choice he had made in his life. Somehow, there were only a few things he'd regretted doing – this one, though, was by far on the very top of the list.

Hopping up the stairs leading to his flat like an idiot, Gintoki gestured at Hijikata to hurry it up. Toshi walked up the stairs silently and quickly, he felt awkward and the less people would see him or know about this presence there, the better, of course. They entered the empty, dark flat, and Gintoki didn't even switch the light on as he turned to Hiji again, saying: "You know where my shower is, so… go wash yourself? Not everywhere, mind you, I'm not going to do you tonight, I'll just help you release. You can't be expecting more with the poor payment. Of course, I'm not letting you do me, either, because that amount of money, it's not enough."

"Okay, alright, shuddup, I get it," Hijikata growled and turned to do as he'd been told, because honestly, was there anything else he could do? It was not like there was any going back at that point, he – well, he _could_ still run away, but he'd feel like a chicken and he'd hate that about as much as he hated getting off by a guy. Not to mention the _guy_ was none other than Gintoki.

Actually, no, if he chickened out at that moment, he'd hate himself for that more. If Gintoki was about to get him off, then in fact, Hijikata's money was going to feed the Yorozuya and co., right? Therefore, thinking about it, wasn't this just helping? Gintoki – no matter how Hijikata disliked the fact – was a citizen and as such, he as to be protected by the Shinsengumi. Well, sure, he'd usually done his best to cause trouble, as though he was trying to prove he not only doesn't need to be protected, but isn't even _worth_ protecting, but hey, that didn't matter, did it? Fact was, the money he was going to pay was going to help Gintoki get by.

Seriously, anything worked for Hijikata as an excuse.

This was bad.

Really bad.

The water was cold and no matter how much he tried, it wouldn't get warm, so the shower was way quicker and more unpleasant than he'd prefer. It left him less time to think, brought the… the… hell, he didn't even know what to call it… deal? Could be a deal. It brought the deal closer and he _hated_ the thought.

He stepped out and after thinking about it briefly, he got dressed again, partly because he was embarrassed, partly because _fuck_ , he was cold. There was bitter taste under his tongue and every cell in his body was screaming to get the hell out of that place, but he stubbornly ignored it and went back. It was still dark there, but there was dim light coming from Gintoki's room, so he slowly followed it. Opening the door, he muttered: "I'm done," and he looked away from Gintoki, who was sitting there, his yukata open, and was reading something. He was shirtless, but still had his pants on, which was kind of a relief.

"Okay," Gin nodded and patted the futon he'd been waiting on. "Come here, then."

Hijikata hesitated. "Um…"

"What?" Gintoki tilted his head to the left, waiting.

"C-Could we not… do this with the light on?"

"Ohoho, Oogushi-kun is embarrassed, that's cute," Gintoki chuckled, but got up and switched the light off. To do that, he walked close to Hijikata, and as he went back, he dragged him along.

"Don't fucking call me cute, that's annoying," Hijikata argued, but he let Gintoki manoeuvre him "Your hands are cold," he muttered, then smacked himself. "I just realised I didn't fix the heater."

"That's just like you, idiot," Hijikata grumbled, sitting onto the futon, legs crossed. He didn't really know what to do, so he just waited for Gintoki to do his thing.

"My bad, my bad. I'll warm you up," the perm-head snickered and before the raven could say anything in response, a strong pair of hands pushed him down backwards. "I'm servicing you, so you just lie back and enjoy. If you dislike anything I do, feel free to stop me," Gintoki said as he started unbuttoning Hijikata's jacket. He pulled it off of the vice-commander and opened his shirt, too, but he didn't take it off this time, instead, he ran his hands up and down Hijikata's chest. Somehow, they were warm and they felt good and strangely comforting on Toshi's skin, but even so, goose-bumps had appeared all over him. He felt Gintoki touch his neck softly and reach to the back of it with his fingers, massaging him. Hijikata was stiff, he knew he was, and he honestly tried to relax, but somehow, he didn't quite manage. The hands have moved again, and stopped to stroke on his chest; Hijikata inhaled sharply in surprise, because he hadn't expected that he could feel anything on his nipples. It was a strange feeling just being rubbed there, and when Gintoki leaned down and taking Hiji's right nipple between his lips, he sucked on it, Hijikata's back arched up, because he felt the sweetest stab in his abdomen and couldn't _not_ move about.

Gintoki's lips went lower, and as they brushed over Hijikata's belly, it tickled, but not only that. He felt tongue sometimes, fingers, too, and hot breath against his skin, and somehow, it was hard to comprehend _all_ of it. He'd never been on the solely receiving end, he'd been only with women before and it was never like this with them, obviously. In such cases, he was the one holding, he was the one doing the stuff that Gintoki was now doing to him.

Except… he was pretty damn sure none of the women felt like this with him, he was not _this_ good. Gintoki unzipped Hijikata's pants using his teeth and mouthed at Hijikata's cock through the cloth of his boxers, the heat of his breaths directly feeding Hijikata's arousal. When the perm-head tugged at Hijikata's trousers, Toshi almost didn't lift his hips because once he did that, he moved his half-hard penis right towards Gintoki's mouth, which felt awkward; nevertheless, once his trousers were gone, his underwear followed right after and Hijikata thanked God it was dark in there, because his face must have gotten so red at that moment he probably hadn't been redder in his entire life.

There were soft, moist lips on the tip of his cock and a tongue, hot tongue applying just _enough_ pressure to feel good, but not enough to stimulate properly; Gintoki's fingers wrapped around the base and squeezed there, going up and down in a steady, slow rhythm. The bastard knew fucking well what he was doing, he knew his way around these things, and despite it was pleasant, it was pissing Hijikata off. Just how many guys have been in Gintoki's mouth before him?

And _no_ , it was definitely _not_ jealousy he was feeling.

The tongue went into the slit on the tip of his penis, and as it twiddled there, the hand on the shaft never stopping, Hijikata just barely held back the moan that struggled to escape his throat. He was _determined_ not to moan, because that would just make him look stupid. Because seriously, there was no way he'd let Gintoki hear him make sounds like a little bitch. No fucking way in fucking hell.

He opened his eyes and looked at the dark ceiling. He found himself in a really bizarre situation; at that very moment he was getting a goddamn blowjob from a Sakata fucking Gintoki, and not only was it unbelievable, he was already regretting it and just really hoped the word won't get out. If it did, he wouldn't hear the end of it, especially from a certain little annoying piece of shit, namely Okita Sougo. That would surely be his doom, and — "Oh— Ack!"

His breath hitched and he felt his throat clench as Gintoki's mouth went down his length. Digging his fingers into the sheet underneath and screwing his eyes tightly shut, he bit his lip hard to prevent any other sounds from being heard.

It was intense, mind-blowing; he would question why the hell the Yorozuya was this good at something like that, but he couldn't focus. He was hot, despite being exposed to cold night air, he felt sweat beads form on his skin and run down his forehead. There were wet sounds as Gintoki was working his cock with his mouth, it was slick because of the mixture of pre-cum and saliva, he felt the liquid run down his skin in drops, mostly between his legs, and even though it tickled, it was… too much. He knew he was nearing his peak, there was nothing he could do about it, and…

 _Nonono! You can't do that!_ … That desperate thought shot through his strained brain when Gintoki's other hand that was resting on Hijikata's leg up until that moment moved and scratched down his chest to his crotch, over his happy trail to the base of his cock and back up again; he felt the faint red traces Gintoki's fingernails left on their way, and the burn was something he didn't dislike. He twitched and his eyes shot open when he felt Gintoki's hot mouth disappear from down there.

He saw Gin looming over him, licking up the scratch traces, the hand in Hijikata's groin moving quicker, and the moment Gintoki's lips reached Toshi's chest again, Hijikata gave in. He let Gintoki stimulate him, nipples, neck, chest, sides, belly, groin, he just…

"Agh! I'm—" That was all Gintoki seemed to need to hear, because suddenly, he moved back down and the hot gentle lips were on Hijikata's shaft again, going as deep as possible this time, driving him crazy and blowing his mind entirely empty.

His vision went black for a moment.

There was utter silence for a while, which he was grateful for; he felt Gintoki let go and there was some rustling, then there were tissues touching him and cleaning him, despite he never asked for anything like that.

"That good?" Gintoki asked after a while, getting up – probably to throw away the used tissues. Hijikata sat up shakily, murmuring: "You still dare to ask?"

"I take that as a yes," the perm-headed bastard laughed and left the room.

Hijikata silently searched for his underwear and pants and started getting dressed, because that was pretty much all he could think of – before the idiotic slacker came back, he had to do that, he wouldn't let Gintoki see him naked… and what if it occurred to Gin to turn on the lights?

He just finished buttoning his shirt when Gintoki entered the room again and – really – switched the light on. "You're quick to dress, Oogushi-kun," he stated, chuckling. Hijikata eyed him, then looked away, coughing awkwardly. He couldn't not notice how red Gintoki's mouth was after all that, and… since his eyes happened to wander a bit lower… "T-Thanks," he murmured reluctantly, trying to force that image out of his head.

"Thanks doesn't cut it, I need the money, Oogushi-kun."

"Stop fucking calling me that," Hijikata hissed and reached for his jacket. The moment he threw it over his shoulders, he reached into his back pocket for his wallet and emptied it, handing it over to Gintoki. "There. 'S all I have on me now."

The Yorozuya took the money and counted them, then he nodded. "This is enough."

"Good," Toshi got up hastily and made his way to the exit. Gintoki watched him leave, but as Hijikata reached the door, the silvernette walked up to him, grabbed his elbow and said something. With the feeling he's dreaming, he shakily tottered down the stairs and slowly turned to go back to the headquarters. There were only two things on his mind – a vivid memory of Gintoki pitching a remarkable tent, and the last few sentences he'd heard before leaving.

 _"_ _Since it is forbidden now – and we both know I can't just casually appear on a brothel's worker list – come again? I won't charge you the full price, but I really need the money."_ As Gintoki was saying that, he leaned closer and narrowed his eyes. _"I can show you worlds you've never even dreamt of,"_ and that bastard said it so seductively, it sent a shiver down Hijikata's spine.

… Also.

Who in the world would reply to that with "I'll think about it?"

Because somehow, that was exactly what Hijikata just did.


	3. Chapter 3

**White Crane's Shadow**

The next few days were sort of busy, but passed without anything special happening.

Okita tried to behead him. Several times. As usual, Hijikata got away without a scratch, but he got pissed nevertheless. They fought in the park and both fell into a pond eventually, then drenched and angry went back to the HQ. Nobody dared to utter a word.

The Shinsengumi attempted to catch Katsura and failed again, because he managed to get lost in a crowd. Then they heard explosions at a Justaway factory and found him there, arguing with someone over cannons. The factory collapsed, but nobody died and even though Katsura had escaped, the Shinsengumi called it a day, because there was a soap opera at four being aired and most of them wanted to watch it. Hijikata, of course, had no such desires, and the fact he ended up watching it with them totally doesn't mean anything whatsoever.

There were no signs of any, eh, night workers breaking _that_ new law, so apart from some thievery and one fire that didn't even manage to spread, even the night patrols were peaceful.

When he had nothing else to do, he was drowning in passion with Paperwork-san.

The Gorilla- eh _, Kondou-san, the_ _commander of the Shinsengumi,_ got into the umpteenth fight with Otae-san and got his head smashed into a melon; Hijikata had to pay for the damage caused, and it was rather a big sum of money, because unfortunately, the melon was not the only thing getting destroyed. He had been assured he would get the money back and that the higher-ups would list it under work-related expenses, but he hadn't seen a single yen from that sum yet. Also he would really like to get a financial reward for being successful in getting all the melon seeds out of Kondou-san's nose. Then, he had to take Kondou-san out to drink because Kondou said he wanted to heal his broken heart, and it was Hijikata who paid for all of the drinks.

In other words, he was currently broke.

And he found out that very morning that he was nearly out of mayonnaise. That meant he had to go, pressure Yamazaki to give him some money, then go out and buy some mayo, because he had had a craving for a Katsudon Hijikata Special since he'd woken up and there was no way he wouldn't try to get any.

As soon as he could, which was in the late afternoon, he lit a cigarette, and leaving his room, he walked around, searching for Yamazaki. As his brain went on and on thinking about having no money, out of nowhere, it reminded him of a certain slob who _also_ happened to have no money. He'd realised that he hadn't really ran into the perm-headed parasitic lazy asshole with whom he had… had… h-had…

Shuddering, he leaned on the closest wall and slid down to the ground. Just how could he? Curling up into a ball, he whimpered silently. Out of the most stupid things he'd ever done, that was definitely in the top three. Another one would be that one time he rubbed his eye with a hand covered in chilli, but that's in no way related.

"A-Are you okay, Hijikata-san?"

Toshi looked up to see Yamazaki leaning closer in a worried manner. "Ah, Zaki, great timing," he got up, deciding to forget all of the burning memories of that one night. "I need some money to renew my mayo supply."

"Eh?!" Yamazaki backed away cautiously, shuddering. "Why ask me? Also there's still about fifteen bottles left…!"

"There's _nine_ now." Hijikata followed his steps, as the poor Zaki stumbled backwards clumsily. "That's not even enough to last for two days."

"M-Maybe if you didn't eat so much of it—"

"Haaah?" A vein popped up on Hijikata's forehead. "Are you saying you want to disobey your superior?" He leaned closer, having backed the poor guy against a wall.

"N-No, no way," Yamazaki stuttered out and reaching to his pocket, he handed over his wallet. "H-Here…"

Hijikata opened it and took some of the money, then returned the walled back to the shaking Zaki and turned to leave.

Yamazaki watched his back disappear behind the corner, muttering silently: "… I-I just got mugged..."

Toshi didn't know about that, though; he was walking down the hallway, humming a melody he didn't know where he'd heard it. The day started to seem a little bit better. Leaving the HQ behind, he walked slowly, taking his time, there was no need to rush, after all. The sun was slowly getting closer to the horizon, but Hijikata knew well where he could still buy some mayo even at such a time. There was a number of convenience stores that were still open after six, and a lot of them were willing to sell mayo to Hijikata even after closing hours. He was a regular, after all.

It suddenly occurred to him he could take a shortcut and therefore reach his destination earlier than if he walked down the main road. Making a sharp turn, he slipped into a very narrow alley. It was not exactly the cleanest place in the world, but Hijikata had seen much worse ones in his life. He rushed to get away from the unpleasant stench, when…

"Stop right 'ere."

He did so, looking to the front. There was a man standing Hijikata didn't remember ever meeting before. He would know, he would surely remember, this kind of appearance was something he wouldn't forget no matter how hard he'd try. That guy was fricking huge, he filled up the whole alley in front of Hijikata. Not to mention that he looked like a model gangster. If there were any writers who would need an inspiration for a bad dude character, that man would serve an excellent example.

"… What do you want?" Hijikata asked, half turning to be able to run for it. In an alley as narrow as that one, he wouldn't be able to draw his katana and he definitely didn't want to end up fighting this monstrosity barehanded. It was then he noticed something in the corner of his eye. Someone was behind him.

Before he could even think of anything, something hit him in the head. Hard. His teeth clacked together and he might've bitten his tongue.

For some reason, before his consciousness slipped between his fingers into the darkness, the last thing he thought of was Gintoki's silver hair.

When he woke up, at first he was unsure whether he'd opened his eyes or not. It was pitch black around him, he couldn't see a thing.

Another bad news was that his head was throbbing like crazy and he was only glad he didn't feel like he'd suffered any heavy damage. There _was_ something trickling down his forehead, but he had no clue whether it was blood, sweat or water. His uniform was damp and so was the air, he was sure he was underground. He was shivering slightly, it was cold. There was a coppery tang in his mouth and when he moved his tongue, it hurt. He really bit himself back in the alley.

And the worst news? He couldn't move. Lying on his back, he had been shackled to something above his head – it was likely that they, whoever did all that, used his own handcuffs on his wrists – and his ankles were also bound to something. With hands like that and legs apart, he had been rendered helpless and vulnerable, which was a thought he _hated_.

Hearing many footsteps going down a metal staircase, he closed his eyes, figuring that the smartest thing to do at the moment was to feign unconsciousness.

All in all, he was not surprised that this had happened, it was not like the ne'er-do-wells of the city ever left him alone. He only cursed his own stupidity for actually going through somewhere where he couldn't draw his sword.

"… and so, I've prepared everything. Once he's awake, we can start any time you like, boss."

 _Boss? So, a gang? Yakuza, possibly?_ Hijikata wondered, maintaining a poker face. Somebody turned the light on and it burned Hijikata's eyes even through his closed eyelids.

"He's already awake, though," the _boss_ said and Hijikata's body tensed when he heard that person come closer. Someone's rough hand grabbed Hijikata's chin and yanked his head up. "Won't you look at us, Mr. Demonic Vice-Commander?"

Hesitantly, Hijikata did so. The voice was like silk, like velvet, it was impossible to disobey. He was looking into the face of an Amanto he didn't remember seeing before, and he noticed a few humans around, who probably came down there along with the _boss_. As for the boss… it was unclear whether they were male or female, and although their facial features were undeniably handsome, even when taking earthly measures into consideration, they were so unisex it creeped him out. They were thin and pallid, kind of like a fairy, with skin ivory, irises purplish and ears pointy.

"What is the meaning of this?" Hijikata asked. "What do you want?"

The Amanto didn't answer, they gestured at one of their underlings to come closer instead. Said underling was holding a tiny black box and when the alien opened it, it showed a small glass jar full of small, pearl-like pills. Hijikata felt all of his hair on the back of his neck rise in terror.

"You have been quite a nuisance these past few weeks," the Amanto said, "but that Justaway factory was the last drop. It was your fault, and you have to receive a punishment befitting for the lowly bastard that you are."

"Wha- I wasn't even there when the explosions started!"

"You and your men were the reason it went down in a cloud of dust. Poof," the alien said flatly, opened the glass, then wore a rubber glove and took one of the pills. "The factory was vital for us, now we have to rebuild it from scratch so that we can continue our business. Do you know just how much money it's going to cost?"

"B-Business?" Hijikata asked, trying hard not to show any emotion on his face, as the Amanto leaned closer.

"Oh, these, among other things," the boss smiled. "You Earthlings seem to love them. Now, open up," they said and forced a thumb between Hijikata's teeth. The policeman bit down on the Amanto's hand, but it had absolutely no effect; he felt his mouth being forcibly open, the Amanto had a ridiculous amount of strength in their slender hands. Even if Hijikata tried to struggle and free himself, he was not able to-

The boss shoved the pill down Hijikata's throat so deep that he had no chance but to swallow it. He gagged, feeling the long fingers inside, and the moment his mouth was free, he coughed, trying to choke the pill out.

"Don't bother," the alien smiled, showing their sharp, vampire-like teeth. "It dissolves almost immediately."

"Wh-What are these?" Toshi asked, his eyes wide open.

"Funnily enough, they are a side product we get when making our very special and highly destructive explosives," the Amanto said, sitting down on a chair someone put next to the mattress Hijikata was on.

"But what do they do?" Hijikata demanded to know, tugging at his bonds.

The Amanto's eyeballs darkened, becoming wholly purple and giving the angelic boss a devilish appearance, as they smiled at Hijikata again. "You'll see soon enough."

Clenching his teeth, Hijikata looked away. It didn't seem like the alien was someone to negotiate with, but for the time being, he was still alive and perhaps there was a way for him to free himself and escape.

"You know," the Amanto started after a while, "removing you from the scene is also great for us because we'll be able to communicate with the Edo underworld easily. Drugs like the one I had you swallow are just a star*. Apart f*om explosive*, there's ...***… ** and ****… So, if we *** … you …******"

Hijikata blinked several times. He'd noticed that he'd stopped feeling cold just about when the alien sat down. His surroundings began pulsating, the colours – not like there were many in the basement, though – became more vivid and he felt his heartbeat quicken a lot. To top that, he could clearly see that the Amanto was still speaking, but he couldn't hear a word anymore; all he could hear was a buzz like when you leave the TV on when there's nothing being aired.

At the moment, he was hot.

Unbearably so.

He took a shaky breath for air, it was like there was not enough oxygen, and even though the cold air burned him in his throat, he gasped for more. He stirred weakly, his own body wouldn't listen to him. His trousers were suddenly too tight, they never were _this_ tight, not even when he had the biggest hard-on ever. He still could think more or less straight, but he was not in control of anything his body was doing at the moment.

"Bas… turds…" he murmured, his glazed eyes shifting over to the alien, who was not talking anymore, but was watching with interest. "Seems like the drug is more effective than I'd thought," the Amanto smirked and reached out to touch Hijikata's crotch. Hijikata didn't catch a word of what the boss said. Unfortunately, though, he understood his situation far too well. His back arched at the touch and when the alien gave his clothed dick a squeeze, he yelped in pain. It hurt, but he knew that if the Amanto did that once more, he'd surely come.

And the boss delivered.

A bunch of unintelligible curses rolled down from Hijikata's lips as he watched with hatred the Amanto unbutton his now soiled trousers. He was shaking, aching to be touched, and he resented himself, the drug and the Amanto for that.

"***, ** should film ***," he heard the alien say and his head snapped to the side to see one of the underlings get up and leave the room.

"Wh… at…!" he started, but the Amanto kneeled over him and grinned, opening his jacket and shirt. Reaching down, the alien's hand grabbed Hijikata's dick with its cold fingers. Leaning to Hijikata's ear, the boss said, making sure that Toshi hears it: "So wet… how lewd."

"Gh…!" Hijikata clenched his teeth. The Amanto started to jack him off, the hand with the rubber glove going for Hijikata's rear right off the bat. Every time he felt like he was about to reach his peak, the Amanto's hand wrapped around his cock tightly in order to stop him from coming. It was an endless cycle of pleasure and pain, neither of which he wanted to feel. "No…!" he whimpered weakly when he felt the fingers enter him. He didn't possess the strength for more. His mind became fuzzy, he couldn't focus.

When he heard the door creak open again, he closed his eyes and turned his head away.

"Wha- Who are you?! How did you get past the guards?" the Amanto jumped up, letting go of Hijikata. He didn't hear anything, he _couldn't_ hear anything, he came again, and again, and again because of that stupid drug. "There were bloodthirsty hounds, too!"

"I'm Raspberry Pudding," the person who entered answered, coming closer. "I hope you're ready to pay for what you've done to my friend."

"Ra-Raspberry Pudding? What kind of a ridiculous name is that?" The alien backed away slowly.

Gintoki (because, of course, it was none other than him) eyed the room, the few shaking underlings, the Amanto who was slowly going backwards and nearing a wall, his own torn yukata with a few blotches of red here and there. Then, his eyes rested on Hijikata, on the trembling Hijikata who was unable to sense anything but the drug.

"Bloodthirsty hounds? Don't make me laugh." He made his way right towards Hijikata, his bokuto still in his hand. "Those were cute puppies in comparison with the monster living under my roof."

The alien watched with eyes widened how Gintoki's wooden sword cut through the ropes around Hijikata's ankles like blade through butter, and when it shattered even the cuffs, the alien boss blurted out: "H-How?!"

Gintoki gave the Amanto a blank stare. "It's about the soul," he said, walking to the Amanto calmly. Before the alien could react, Gintoki reached out and patted the perplexed alien's shoulder lightly. "No secret buttons and no escaping," he said darkly and then his fist hit the mark.

The Amanto coughed and collapsed on the ground, quivering. "I won't kill you," Gintoki said, sheathing his bokuto. "But once you get up, _scram_. Leave this district, this town, this land, this planet. Lucky for you I have something more important to do." Turning on his heel, he went to pick Hijikata up.

He was furious. So furious he could hardly hold himself back. He was sure that the punch was going to send the Amanto to the hospital for a few days at least, and hoped that the bloody alien was going to have to eat only soup for the rest of its life.

It was only by chance he found out about what happened to Hijikata, but he was glad he did. The man in front of him at the moment was not the proud demon he'd learned to know. Hijikata was a shaking wreck, with his dick still hard and dripping between his legs, gasping for air, cheeks flushed. His skin was hot to the touch when Gintoki started fixing his clothes, and he quivered whenever Gintoki's fingers brushed him. Despite all that'd happened between them, despite everything they had against each other, Hijikata, too, was one of the people Gintoki cherished dearly. "Unforgivable," he muttered.

He didn't zip Hijikata's fly, because he figured it would be a terrible thing to do to him in that state, and so he took off his torn yukata, covering Hijikata's still exposed crotch with it. Lifting him off the mattress, he glanced at the Amanto. " _Don't even think about it_ ," he hissed, noticing a gun in the Amanto's hand.

"You… How dare you… ruining my plans…" the Amanto started, but Gintoki was already running to the door. He wasn't dumb and knew that if the Amanto was going to talk, to let them finish was not a smart idea.

When he heard the gunshot, he was long out of the door, holding Hijikata firmly in his arms. It was already dark outside, and he made his way to the Odd Jobs as quickly as he could. It was a bit far, but he wasn't thinking of that at all.

"Gin-chan!" Kagura opened the door. "Pakkun was about to go home, and I was wondering where—"

"Sorry, Kagura, could you go with Shinpachi today?" Gintoki interrupted her.

"Ah? Eh? Are – are you replacing us with Hijibaka here?" She widened her eyes, and was about to kid around more, but stopped, seeing the expression on Gintoki's face. He walked by her and walked right to his room.

"G-Gin san… what happened to Hijikata-san?" Shinpachi asked quietly, looking at Hijikata's face when they were passing by.

"I'll explain later. Now take Kagura and go," Gintoki set Hijikata on the floor of his room gently and turned to set out the futon. "His condition is not good, but… don't tell anyone about this. His pride as a man would be hurt – no, shattered, if you told anyone. If your sister asks," he glanced at the still-frozen Shinpachi, "tell her I've gone out to drink or something."

"Gin-san…" Shinpachi was about to ask for the details, but seeing that Gintoki was dead serious, he just nodded. "Th-Then, see you tomorrow," he muttered and dragging Kagura out, the door slid shut behind them.

Gintoki finished setting the futon and put Hijikata on it. There was a while of silence. "Man…" Gintoki sighed and leaned on the wall close to Hijikata. Slowly, he curled up and for some reason, he knew he was not going to fall asleep that night.


	4. Chapter 4

**White Crane's Shadow**

"Gin… toki?"

"Yeah?"

"Wa… Water…"

"Right." Gintoki got up to fetch Hijikata a drink.

It was the middle of the night. Hijikata was awake the whole time, gasping and suppressing moans, and Gintoki, of course, didn't sleep a wink either. He was still angry about what happened, so he wouldn't have slept, even if he didn't have to watch over Hijikata.

"Here." He came back with a glass of water, as requested, and kneeled next to Hijikata. "Can you sit?"

Hijikata didn't answer, he just stared at the glass, panting heavily. Gintoki sighed and attempted to help Hijikata to sit up so that he could at least take a sip. Vainly, Hijikata was practically unable to move on his own. "Help… me," he breathed out, looking at the silvernette, his eyes glazed.

"Okay, don't blame me for this," Gintoki pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing, then he took a mouthful of water and leaned down.

"Bas… tard, th…at's embarrassin'…" Hijikata protested, but since he couldn't resist physically, Gintoki's lips fused with his. He gulped down the cold water, and as the silvernette backed away, he took a sharp breath. "A… a lil' more," he pleaded. He was thirsty, desperately thirsty and would do anything to sense the cooling feeling again.

"Right-o," Gintoki did the same as before, letting his patient drink a bit more. This time, though, as he wanted to sit up straight, he found out Hijikata's hand is shakily clutching his yukata. "H-Hey, your hand is kinda…"

"Gin… Gintoki," Hijikata was staring at him, a different kind of thirst in his eyes.

"No. Nonono. If I do what you want, you'll kill me after you recover," Gintoki grabbed his wrist firmly.

"I… diot. My head's… clear. I'll… I'll even… pay, so… help… me…" Hijikata's eyes stared at Gintoki intensely, as he was still clutching the Yorozuya's yukata, quick pants escaping through his parted lips, bangs sticking to his forehead with sweat of which Gintoki could see drop after drop rolling down the vice-commander's skin. Suddenly, he regretted he helped Hijikata undress.

"Promise?" he said, looking at Hijikata. "Promise that no matter what I do, you won't make me eat my own balls after you're alright?"

"Y… Yeah," Hijikata breathed out. "Just… help." Gintoki's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm taking you to the bathroom first," he said. When he lifted the vice-commander off the ground, he heard a silent whimper, but he didn't comment on it. He put the already naked Hijikata in the shower and started washing him. Inside out. Hijikata almost came during that several times, but since it was just _almost,_ Gintoki considered it a good sign, that the drug was finally wearing off. The whole time, he was stuttering silent curses directed at Gintoki, the Amanto, the drug in his body and the whole world.

Returning to his room, he gently put Hijikata back onto the futon. Toshi was a wreck, shaking feverishly, gasping for air, his dick stiff and hard, constantly leaking all over his lower stomach. He _knew_ he was a wreck, and he didn't even care. As opposed to the last time he was in Gintoki's room, he didn't mind his nudity, he just wanted that terrifying feeling of being _this_ aroused to stop already.

Gintoki started taking his clothes off. He didn't do so before, so they were wet, but he didn't seem to care, dropping them onto the floor piece by piece. Hijikata watched the silver moonlight glisten on Gintoki's pallid, damp skin, contouring every muscle, as Gintoki moved around. It seemed somewhat appropriate for the Yorozuya to bathe in the light of the moon, it made him look much more attractive than what he looked like in the daylight. At the moment, as he knelt over Hijikata, there were no signs of the usual lazy slob who lived above Otose's snack shop.

He gasped when Gintoki ran his hand over his skin. Immediately, goose-bumps started appearing all over him and his heartbeat, already pretty rapid, quickened even more. He realised he was shivering, and that it wasn't just because of the stupid Amanto drug. He was trembling with anticipation, he wanted to feel that bastard's touch more than ever. Somewhere, deep down underneath all the layers of sound reason, he felt a little thankful for the state he was in. If _that_ with the Amanto hadn't happened, he'd likely never come looking for the services Gintoki'd offered. It wasn't what he wanted from the Yorozuya, it wasn't what he wished for, but it was certainly much more than what he'd ever dared to hope for. Even last time, he would never have expected anything like that to happen.

He inhaled shakily when Gintoki's hand reached his crotch. He felt the fire burning in his gut convulse into the touch. The Yorozuya's face couldn't be seen as it was hidden in the shades, and Hijikata was glad it was so. Closing his eyes, he gave himself completely at Gintoki's mercy, for there was nothing else he could do. Not like he would be able to play an active part in that under normal circumstances anyway; he was more likely to die of embarrassment.

Gintoki's hand wrapped around his cock firmly and his whole body tensed up at that sensation. It took just a few suspiciously experienced moves of Gintoki's wrist and he came, his hard-on still standing proud in his everlasting shame. The silvernette hadn't batted an eyelash and continued silently, focused on the mess in his hands Hijikata had been reduced to.

Although it was his hidden desire to touch and be touched, to feel Gintoki's milky skin under his fingertips and to lean into Gintoki's embrace, he was never going to tell anyone; it was a secret he was going to take into his grave one day, that he had fallen for a man despite being one himself. It was like a curse. He couldn't possibly tell anyone, let alone the person in question. Obviously, he would become a laughing stock for the whole stinking Kabuki if he were to say something so ridiculous. And… for some reason, Gintoki didn't seem like he'd keep it to himself.

He'd lost track of how many times he'd come. Gintoki was doing his job well, no doubt, but it wasn't enough. Blame the drug – or at least _Hijikata_ wholly blamed the drug – but, fuck, just…!

"Yoro… zuya…"

"Hm?" Gintoki stopped working Hijikata's dick. "Changed your mind?"

"N-No, but…" Toshi attempted to fill his burning lungs with oxygen. Vainly. "Ins… ide… feels we-weird…"

"Inside?" Gintoki hesitated briefly, then gently, but firmly pushed one of Hijikata's knees up. His fingers lightly grazed the puckered, twitching hole. "You want me… to put something in here?"

Hijikata didn't open his eyes, as a silent, breathless "Yeah" rolled down from his lips.

"Okay." Gintoki's hand quickly ran over the helpless Toshi's stomach, coating itself in certain fluids, then it slowly went back down and carefully prodded at Hijikata's entrance. The raven bit his lip, but didn't manage to suppress the loud moan that escaped through his nose when Gintoki pushed his digit in. The Yorozuya continued rubbing his patient's dick and gently massaged the inside of him, hoping to find that _one spot_. It didn't take him long and when his fingers brushed over it, Hijikata groaned in frustration as he came again.

It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough, not even nearly enough, it still was not bloody enough and Hijikata hated it. He hated feeling so helpless and so desperate, desperate for Gintoki's touch, more of it, _all of it_. Although the thought alone weirded him out not too long ago, now he was more than ready to bottom, to spread his legs for Gintoki – well, if he had any control over his body at the moment – and moan and pant like a little bitch. He wanted it, wanted _him_ , felt being consumed and swept away by his inner desire.

"Gin…" he still didn't look. "More… gimme… more…" he attempted to take a deeper breath and it came out like a sob more than anything, "do… sumthin'. More."

"You sure?" he felt Gintoki's fingers – three by then – stop moving inside of him. "Y-Yea," he panted, his hand weakly reaching for Gintoki's wrist and clutching it. He was slowly regaining his muscle power, but he still felt weak and… in need of Gintoki's assistance. When the silvernette pulled his fingers out, he whimpered, biting his lip again.

Something different touched his entrance and he didn't have to think twice to know what this hot thing was. Just the thought of it went straight into his cock and his hips moved by themselves before Gintoki started pushing himself in, slowly and carefully so that it wouldn't hurt. It wasn't necessary, Hijikata was already all loose and relaxed, but he appreciated it greatly anyway. Especially since hadn't Gintoki come to his rescue, he would have been being humiliated, abused _and_ filmed for the whole world to see. Instead, he was in the caring, careful hands of the man he secretly longed for. Considering his misfortune, he got pretty lucky in the end.

A moan escaped through his clenched teeth when Gintoki deemed it okay to move. His mouth wouldn't listen to him, he was not able to hold back any of the sounds he made, and although he thought he wasn't exceptionally loud, he couldn't be sure, being high on pleasure.

His eyes cracked a bit open and he could see Gintoki's silhouette. The silvernette was looming over him, hands on either side of Hijikata, and occasional sweat drops rolled down his pallid skin like pearls, filling Hijikata's lungs with the scent of another man.

At one point, Hijikata caught a glimpse of Gintoki's face. Immediate regret filled his heart; Gintoki's expression was serious, focused, remorseful and yet so angry, he was looking at Hijikata with sadness and pain in his eyes. Toshi felt his insides clench bitterly and suddenly was struck with the urge to vomit; there was no joy in that act. Even though it was neither his nor Gintoki's fault that it happened, he felt like he did something terrible to the silvernette. That he shouldn't have begged.

"Gin… toki…" he breathed the Yorozuya's name and reached his hand out weakly, eventually succeeding in wrapping his arms around Gintoki's neck and hugging him with all the strength he could muster. Just for the fleeting moment, while he was still able to blame it on the drug.


End file.
